Three charged with murder of Malta's anti-corruption journalist

VALLETTA, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Three Maltese men -- George Degorgio, Alfred Degorgio and Vincent Muscat -- have been charged with murder of Malta's anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in Malta on Tuesday.

All three pleaded not guilty to the charges, which included, homicide, involvement in organized crime, criminal conspiracy, criminal use of explosives, knowingly being in possession of explosives for illicit purposes and relapsing.

The three were arraigned in court after being arrested, along with seven other men, in a series of raids involving the police, armed forces and intelligence services, on Monday morning.

Bail was not requested for the accused and the court accepted a request by the prosecution for the men's assets to be frozen. They were remanded in custody.

Upon entering the courtroom, the men, who appeared unfazed all throughout, requested the assistance of legal aid lawyers, however refused to discuss their case with him in court.

Local media reports earlier in the day claimed none of the country's top criminal lawyers were willing to take the case.

Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed in a car bomb attack as she was leaving her house on Oct. 16.

Sources close to the investigation have told Xinhua that the prosecution has a strong case against three men, having retrieved electronic devices and other evidence believed to link the men to the crime. They are believed to have been identified using triangulation data from phones they used to detonate the bomb.

Owing to the nature of the assassination, the Maltese government has requested assistance from a number of foreign intelligence agencies, including the FBI, Europol, Dutch forensic experts, as well the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation.

The Maltese government is offering a one-million-euro reward for information leading to the conviction of those responsible for the murder. Enditem